Stay architecturally enlightened!

When times are good and FIRMS find you?

Having worked in a major and popular city when the job market was more fluid, the major firms (either cutting-edge design or more corporate) never seemed to lack people interested in working for them, so they never seemed to have to "reach out."

Then, one receives a call from a firm that one barely knows of who found your number through the AIA resume book. I've often wondered if it's a red flag. When this has happened, there were things heard during the interview that went off as "red flags." I had also heard people talk of a situation where a solo practitioner constantly had to keep his small staff "refreshed" because that's how quickly people left his place of employment.

What's your thought if THEY find you, especially when things are good?

Some firms just don't want to advertise job openings and then have to deal with the flood of responses. There's no particular reason to read anything sinister into a situation where a firm reaches out to you..

There's a section on Archinect called Talent Finder which is specifically for firms to browse, search and find new hires. The firms that pay for this service choose to go after new talent rather than waiting for people to come to them. It's just another recruitment approach.

I think you need to remember that you have to use the interview to learn more about your prospective employer. It is a two way conversation. It is not unreasonable to ask why they chose you for an interview or who referred you.

I think we will not be encountering this practice for quite a while, but one can dream